greying_mantis
Member
Hi all,
Not sure whether this belongs here or in the ferts forum so feel free to move/ask me to re-post if necessary.
For context, I’m in the process of rehabilitating my tank after several years of neglect (journal here). Despite having had several tanks with plants over the years I have never kept the plants thriving for long and consider myself inexperienced with planted tanks. I'm trying to do it right this time.
Tank: 270 litre 117x38x60 (int. dimensions)
Age: many years
Tap Water Hardness: hard - 14 dGH (according to water co. report)
Tank pH: 7.4-7.6 (tap water seems to vary mid 6s to mid 7s, I need to do an 24hr aged water test)
Filtration: Filstar XP2 rated at 1050 lph, Fluval U3
Filter media: inert sponges and ceramic beads
Light: single Twinstar 120G (Full Spectrum 380-780nm + RGB, 42W, 2677lm)
Photoperiod: 6hrs on, 4hrs off, 6hrs on, 8hrs off
Substrate: sand & depleted growth substrate (with root balls)
Ferts added: NPK and trace (see below), "some" JBL 7+13 Kugeln root balls (ferrous clay) mostly under the sword and the stem plants
CO2: no
Water changes: several years top off only (no/few plants), 14 days daily 10-40%, weekly 10-30% depending on need (see aforementioned journal)
Nitrate: 40-50ppm
Immersed Plants: vallisneria asiatica, v. spiralis, cryptocoryne wendtii, c. undulatus, c. nevellii, hygrophila corymbosa, echinodorus atlandsberg, anubia barteri caladiifolia, a. nana, a. hastifolia, a. congensis, leptochilus/microsorum pteropus, hydrocotyle leucocephala, limnophila sessiliflora, taxiphyllum barbieri
Floating & Emersed Plants: scindapsus/epipremnum, limnobium laevigatum
Inhabitants: 5x adult congo tetra, 2x adult "dwarf" synodontis (petricola & lucipinnis), 2x adult 7-8" synodontis (ocellifer & nigrita)
I added plants in stages from mid Feb. The frogbit was added about a week ago, having spent the previous week in a separate nursery tank with the same water. The frogbit is now looking very peaky, and some of the other plants have what appear to be necrotic lesions - some mid-leaf, some on the tips. I've attached photos. Am I right that this is necrosis? Apart from the frogbit, the echinodorus, vallis and some anubias are affected. The crypts are doing battle with crypt melt and my large synos so I can't tell what else is going on with them. The hydrocotyle has vanished. The moss browned considerably but is greening up slowly. The hygro and limnophila seem to be doing well. While re-scaping, planting, etc I kept the plants misted as best I could. I don't think anything dried out.
I have been using some old AE liquid ferts (NPK and trace elements) dosed daily according to the bottle instructions but they are genuinely quite ancient and I suspect are doing no harm but also little good. I've also been doing a lot more water changes that would normally be expected so the ferts won't have had as much chance to build up to useful levels even if they are still "good".
I've read the "duckweed index" megathread and peered closely at the nutrient deficiency diagrams. I think what I'm seeing are deficiencies in some of the mobile nutrients - the problems are affecting established growth. Probably potassium? and maybe also chloride (though I rarely-if-ever see chloride deficiencies talked about), molybdenum and magnesium? Then again, maybe this is just some new plant adjustment annoyance? Has it come on too quickly to be a nutrient problem? Anything I can do in the next few days?
I do realise the answer to this might be "just get a decent fert regimen going and then give it time" and I will but I'd still like a better idea of what might be the cause, especially if it's one without such a simple fix. I may well add a low level of yeast-and-sugar CO2 in the future but I won't be aiming to maximise output and I will not be getting a pressurised cylinder system (non-negotiable).
Bonus question! I'm planning to get the Solufeed 2:1:4 and TEC powders for my ongoing fert regimen but I am unsure whether I should also be adding extra iron as a general precaution. If so, I'll probably go down the tried-and-tested Chempak Sequestered Iron With Magnesium and Manganese route. Would this be overloading a Solufeed based regimen? I'm not aiming for EI dosing as I'd like to keep the water changes to a more manageable number of buckets.
Not sure whether this belongs here or in the ferts forum so feel free to move/ask me to re-post if necessary.
For context, I’m in the process of rehabilitating my tank after several years of neglect (journal here). Despite having had several tanks with plants over the years I have never kept the plants thriving for long and consider myself inexperienced with planted tanks. I'm trying to do it right this time.
Tank: 270 litre 117x38x60 (int. dimensions)
Age: many years
Tap Water Hardness: hard - 14 dGH (according to water co. report)
Tank pH: 7.4-7.6 (tap water seems to vary mid 6s to mid 7s, I need to do an 24hr aged water test)
Filtration: Filstar XP2 rated at 1050 lph, Fluval U3
Filter media: inert sponges and ceramic beads
Light: single Twinstar 120G (Full Spectrum 380-780nm + RGB, 42W, 2677lm)
Photoperiod: 6hrs on, 4hrs off, 6hrs on, 8hrs off
Substrate: sand & depleted growth substrate (with root balls)
Ferts added: NPK and trace (see below), "some" JBL 7+13 Kugeln root balls (ferrous clay) mostly under the sword and the stem plants
CO2: no
Water changes: several years top off only (no/few plants), 14 days daily 10-40%, weekly 10-30% depending on need (see aforementioned journal)
Nitrate: 40-50ppm
Immersed Plants: vallisneria asiatica, v. spiralis, cryptocoryne wendtii, c. undulatus, c. nevellii, hygrophila corymbosa, echinodorus atlandsberg, anubia barteri caladiifolia, a. nana, a. hastifolia, a. congensis, leptochilus/microsorum pteropus, hydrocotyle leucocephala, limnophila sessiliflora, taxiphyllum barbieri
Floating & Emersed Plants: scindapsus/epipremnum, limnobium laevigatum
Inhabitants: 5x adult congo tetra, 2x adult "dwarf" synodontis (petricola & lucipinnis), 2x adult 7-8" synodontis (ocellifer & nigrita)
I added plants in stages from mid Feb. The frogbit was added about a week ago, having spent the previous week in a separate nursery tank with the same water. The frogbit is now looking very peaky, and some of the other plants have what appear to be necrotic lesions - some mid-leaf, some on the tips. I've attached photos. Am I right that this is necrosis? Apart from the frogbit, the echinodorus, vallis and some anubias are affected. The crypts are doing battle with crypt melt and my large synos so I can't tell what else is going on with them. The hydrocotyle has vanished. The moss browned considerably but is greening up slowly. The hygro and limnophila seem to be doing well. While re-scaping, planting, etc I kept the plants misted as best I could. I don't think anything dried out.
I have been using some old AE liquid ferts (NPK and trace elements) dosed daily according to the bottle instructions but they are genuinely quite ancient and I suspect are doing no harm but also little good. I've also been doing a lot more water changes that would normally be expected so the ferts won't have had as much chance to build up to useful levels even if they are still "good".
I've read the "duckweed index" megathread and peered closely at the nutrient deficiency diagrams. I think what I'm seeing are deficiencies in some of the mobile nutrients - the problems are affecting established growth. Probably potassium? and maybe also chloride (though I rarely-if-ever see chloride deficiencies talked about), molybdenum and magnesium? Then again, maybe this is just some new plant adjustment annoyance? Has it come on too quickly to be a nutrient problem? Anything I can do in the next few days?
I do realise the answer to this might be "just get a decent fert regimen going and then give it time" and I will but I'd still like a better idea of what might be the cause, especially if it's one without such a simple fix. I may well add a low level of yeast-and-sugar CO2 in the future but I won't be aiming to maximise output and I will not be getting a pressurised cylinder system (non-negotiable).
Bonus question! I'm planning to get the Solufeed 2:1:4 and TEC powders for my ongoing fert regimen but I am unsure whether I should also be adding extra iron as a general precaution. If so, I'll probably go down the tried-and-tested Chempak Sequestered Iron With Magnesium and Manganese route. Would this be overloading a Solufeed based regimen? I'm not aiming for EI dosing as I'd like to keep the water changes to a more manageable number of buckets.
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